Ads by Surf Secure

What is Surf Secure?

Surf Secure claims to be a legitimate app that significantly improves Internet browsing safety - "Surf Secure. This browser application is designed to secure your browser, while surfing the internet".

On initial inspection, Surf Secure may seem to be a legitimate and useful app, however, it is classed as a potentially unwanted program (PUP) and adware, since it infiltrates systems without users’ permission, tracks Internet browsing activity, and generates intrusive online advertisements.

This potentially unwanted program employs a 'virtual layer' to display pop-up, banner, and other similar advertisements. None of these ads originate from users' visited websites and often conceal underlying content. Therefore, the Internet browsing experience is significantly diminished.

Furthermore, some lead to malicious websites - clicking them risks further high-risk adware or malware infections. Surf Secure continually monitors browsing activity by gathering IP addresses, websites visited, pages viewed, search queries, and other similar data.

This information might seem insignificant, however, it can contain personally identifiable details that developers of Surf Secure share with third parties. These third parties misuse personal data to generate revenue - behavior that can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. You are strongly advised to uninstall Surf Secure immediately.

The developers of Surf Secure have released many identical PUPs. As with Surf Secure, Win Safety, Secure Browsing, and Win Security also offer identical functionality, and yet, none provide users with any real value.

Apps such as Surf Secure are designed only to generate revenue for the developers - they generate intrusive advertisements and collect personal data. This is behavior is common amongst adware-type programs.

How did Surf Secure install on my computer?

Although Surf Secure has an official download website, many users install it inadvertently. This is due to deceptive software marketing method called 'bundling' - stealth installation of PUPs with regular software. The developers know that many users do not express enough caution when downloading and installing software.

For this reason, they intentionally hide bogus apps within the 'Custom' or 'Advanced' download/installation settings. By rushing the download/installation processes, and skipping most/all steps, users expose their systems to risk of various infections and put their privacy at risk.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

To prevent this situation be attentive during download and installation of all software. Closely analyze each download/installation step using the 'Custom' or 'Advanced' settings. In addition, never accept offers to download or install additional apps, since bundled software is often malicious.

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Quick menu:

• What is Surf Secure?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Surf Secure application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove Surf Secure adware from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Surf Secure ads from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove 'Ads by Surf Secure' from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove Surf Secure ads from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Surf Secure adware removal:

Windows 11 users:

Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.

Windows 10 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

macOS (OSX) users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window, look for "Surf Secure", select this entry and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted program that causes Surf Secure ads, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components or possible malware infections. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Remove Surf Secure adware from Internet browsers:

At time of research, Surf Secure did not install its browser plug-ins on Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox, however, it was bundled with other adware. Therefore, you are advised to remove all potentially unwanted browser add-ons from your Internet browsers.

Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted browser add-ons:

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently-installed suspicious browser extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the surf secure adware, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, select these entries and click the trash can icon.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the surf secure adware, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click "Extensions", in the opened window, remove all recently-installed suspicious browser plug-ins.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with surf secure adware removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active, click Safari menu, and select Preferences....

In the opened window click Extensions, locate any recently installed suspicious extension, select it and click Uninstall.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the upper-right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and click "Remove" below their names.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the surf secure adware, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Summary:

Commonly, adware or potentially unwanted applications infiltrate Internet browsers through free software downloads. Note that the safest source for downloading free software is via developers' websites only. To avoid installation of adware, be very attentive when downloading and installing free software. When installing previously-downloaded free programs, choose the custom or advanced installation options – this step will reveal any potentially unwanted applications listed for installation together with your chosen free program.

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